SKILL 5: FIND PRONOUN REFERENTS
Example
The passage:
Carnivorous plants, such as the sundew and the Venus-Flytrap, are generally found in humid areas where there is an inadequate supply of nitrogen in the soil. In order to survive, these plants have developed mechanisms to trap insects within their foliage. They have digestive fluids to obtain the necessary nitrogen from the insects. These plants trap the insects in a variety of ways. The sundew has sticky hairs on its leaves; when an insect lands on these leaves, it gets caught up in the sticky hairs, and the leaf wraps itself around the insect. The leaves of the Venus-Flytrap function more like a trap, snapping suddenly and forcefully shut around an insect.
The questions:
1. The pronoun "they" in line 5 refers to
(A) humid areas
(B) these plants
(C) insects
(D) digetive fluids
2. The pronoun "it" in line 8 refers to
(A) a variety
(B) the sundew
(C) an insect
(D) the leaf
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TOEFL: ANSWER TO SKILL 5
In the Reading Comprehension section of the TOEFL test, you will sometimes be asked to determine which noun a pronoun refers to. In this type of question it is important to understand that a noun is generally used first in a passage, and the pronoun that refers to it comes after. Whenever you are asked which noun a pronoun refers to, you should look before the pronoun to find the noun.
To answer the first question, you should look before the pronoun they for plural nouns that the pronoun could refer to. Humid areas, insects, and these plants come before the pronoun, so they are possible answers; digestive fluids comes after the pronoun, so it is probably not the correct answer. Then, you should try the three possible answers in the sentence in the place of the pronoun. You should understand from the context that these plants have digestive fluids to obtain the necessary nitrogen from the insects, so the best answer to this question is answer (B).
To answer the second question, you should look before the pronoun it for singular nouns that the pronoun could refer to. A variety, the sundew, and an insect come before the pronoun, so they are possible answers; the leaf comes after the pronoun, so it is probably not the correct answer. Next you should try the three possible answers in the sentence in place of the pronoun. An insect get caught up in the sticky hairs, rather than a variety or the sundew, so the best answer to this question is answer (C).